The Press., 1887-11-17

5. % HoSx S Sscrintrre says of God, that He dvells in inaccessible light; of the soul wes may sav. she dwells in impenetrable .shadp, ' We think we have approached har and we have hardly touched the hem of har oarments. She shrinks, and with draws mat as possession seems sure at ona' rnoment gliding from our touch, timld as . dove. flame or ice, torrent or peace Hfnl lake whatever the form or image that she assusaes she is ever rock against which we are hurled, and port where We enter but rarely. Therefore is friendship such rare and divine thing the certain mark of Q great soul, and the highest oi the visible rewards attendant on virtue.
 s Christianity, which exalts the soul ana creates so many virtues, could not remain . atran0ar tl fri, .udship. For example, when two christian srouses have found in their faith the very principle of their hdel- ity Jesils Chriat, who has sanct1t1ed thelr love has not promls, d 1t an eternal dura- tion: nan0ht of the senses Gan be lmmor- tai. But if the passions grow fHint as beauty fades. this, irlst,.td of bing slgn of decay. is but the herald of progress. The soul does not suffer bec.tlse the charms of physical beauty lose their sway confidence. esteem, regardi the habit ot Intimate and mutual understanding cher ishes the flame of an affection which |strenRthens with its purity. Ienderness survives under 6 new form. It IS no long- CT the earthly feeling of former days, but the pure happiness of minds inspired Dy the memories of 8 yoath which was at the same time both pure and enchanted. me virgins crown descends from the sacred heights of christian marriage to encircle the spouse's brow, and together they chant the canticle. which, because it is eternal, death itself is powerless to silence. h. stead of the sad desolation to which fading charms consiRn the living heart, frlend-' ship arises from the chilled nuptial couch, odorifereus as lily, perfumed with the radolence of a love that has passed, and old age itself, embalmed by this transig- urino perfume, resembles, on drawing near the tomb, these venerable trees which reserve for their last years their choicest flowers and loveliest fruit.
 Friendship is the end and supreme re- ward of christian conjugal love, and also of the virtues of youth. When young man, assisted by the omnipotent grace ot God, submits his passions to the yoke of chastity, he experiences happiness pro- portioned to the modification of hls senses, and that necessity of loving, which IS so deeply implanted ill our nature, manltests
 
 kindred heart, fervent and chaste as his own. He seeks not long in vain; such. heart presents itself spontaneously to him, as plant buds forth from congenial soil. When sympathy is inspired, sympa- thy is given and he who would awake 1t, needs but to bear within himself its fer vent germ. Every pure heart possesses this power, and draws to itself the kindred heart, no matter at what age. But how much more readily does it attract in youth, when the brow is adorned by winning
 graces. and virtue illumines it with that other beauty which pleases God Himself !!
 Thus David appeared to Jonathan when
 he entered the tent of Saul, holding ia his
 right hand the giants head, and when questioned by the king touching his de-
 scent, replied, "I am the son of your ser ! want Jesse of Bethlehem. "And imme-
 diately, says the scripture, "the soul of
 Jonathan was knit with the soul of David,
 and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. " r Strange effect of single glanc" But a moment ago David kept his father hocks, Jonathan was on the steps of a throne, in
 one instaNt the distance between them Is
 effaced the pastor and the prince, i'll the
 very words of holy writ, become but one
 soul. And the cause is this in this young \ man, still marked by the delicacy of youth, and holding in his vigorous hand the bleed | ing head of vanquished foe, Jonathan discerned the hero; and, seeing that the sou of his king looked favorably on him,
 rejoicing over his victory, and with no
 pride of rank, David recognized the gen. [erous impulse of heart capable of love, and therefore worthy of being loved.
 l Christian friendship, the traits of which
 we have just sketched, had no place among
 the anOients, and neither welded love nor
 the charms of youth could give it birth.
 Amongst them, woman was too abased to
 retain her hold on mans affections by the
 had inspired; her power vanished with
 her beauty, and it was rare to find 1t sur
 viye under a form more perfect. Old age,
 so grand and SO touching to a christian, only brought her, with waning beauty,
 the desolation of neglect, happy ii law less hard than the heart of her spouse still
 granted her place at the domestic hearth. As for the young man of antiquity, he,
 not chaste enough to inspire affection,
 rarely loved with an ardor free from re-
 proach. He loved with the senses rather
 than with the soul. And if the name of
 friendship was known to him (for man has
 never tota ly corrupted or ignored his na-
 ture), he was not susceptible of the pure
 affections which are awakened in us. Jesus
 Christ is the author of human friendship
 It existed, it is true, in the terrestrial par
 adise, where Adam and Eve, still covered
 with the veil of innocence, walked in the
 presence of God, feeling, each for the oth- CT, an affection whose tenderness equalled it's purity. But this was only for a day; Tor perchance an hour soon filed with Ealarm, they shrank from the light of day,
 and man ceased to love as he had formerly loved. True, he carried away into his sad exile 8 constant memory of this love and when the son of God came to redeem him,
 none was astonished that the gospel was a
 volume of love, and love, the volume of salvation.
 ss Tenderness and, purity were not created
 by our Lord; they are the two divine sub-
 stances, of which our hearts are formed, but they are both His gift He loved as
 none other loved J. and among so many friendships, of which he has given the key, I will indicate one, of which, before His advent, no trace can be seen. Jesus Christ
 loved the souls of men, and transmitted to
 us this affection. which is the very foun-
 datlon of christianity. No true. no living
 christian, but possesses tn some degree this love; circulating in our veins as the
 very blood of Christ. .. ''' \ As soon as we love, whether it be in